Nicholene Taylor-Chinchamee joins LGE race for Lopinot/La Florissante

Nicholene Taylor-Chinchamee is ready to make Trinidad and Tobago a better place, starting with her own community.

The Lopinot resident has entered the Local Government Election race to represent Lopinot/La Florissante electoral district as a National Transformation Alliance (NTA) candidate.

Frustrated with what she described as the persistent neglect of her community by the government, the first-time candidate, who is well known in the area for her volunteer work and commitment to helping people, said she believes she is the right woman for the job to develop Lopinot/La Florissante.

“We have been neglected for too long. I want to bring hope.”

Taylor-Chinchamee, a wife, mother, doubles vendor, SRTV reporter and volunteer with the Hunters Search and Rescue team, said she was excited when the NTA asked her to run for councillor despite her not having any interest in politics before.

“Given the challenges we face right now in society, I think I as well as a lot of people are taking it upon themselves to try and make Trinidad and Tobago a better place. We are trying to make it better because we know what we passed through, and we don’t want our children or grandchildren to pass through the same thing.

“I know it is a lot of responsibility so there were mixed emotions. I am capable of doing this job because it’s not like I never did something like this and I am new to it. It is a lot of work because whereas I would have helped 20 people in the past, this is now helping people in the hundreds. I will still get the work done, but it needs co-orporation with people within the community.”

Taylor-Chinchamee who was born and raised in Lopinot said growing up in her village was “the best” and lauded all the “gems” her community offers, further affirming her passion for her community.

“The village for parang. It’s like a sister to Paramin. It is known for its heritage…every time I say I am from Lopinot, people would say ‘oh, the place that has the parang and a set of cocoa and coffee.' There is a lot of history here in Lopinot. Village life is the best. There is the river, we are surrounded by fruits and nature, you always see animals when they come out to drink water.”

Taylor-Chinchamee told WMN among her top priorities should she win the Lopinot/La Florissante seat would be to “fix the roads!”

“The last time the road was paved was when (Basdeo) Panday was prime minister. So it’s really bad! Blanchisseuse road got developed, the Caura road got widened and paved, but Lopinot never had anything.

“If Lopinot has a disaster, there is a one way in, one way out, so anyone who has to come in they would need that access road through Blanchisseuse. All of that has to develop.”

Improving water access for residents will also be a top priority for Taylor-Chinchamee.

“There are two villages beyond the Lopinot village. La Pastora The Alley has been neglected by every single party. Their roads are really terrible, it’s narrow and the access to water is also a problem.”

Taylor-Chinchamee said residents stopped receiving consistent access to water after a water treatment plant was built in the area. She said the irony of this is the Member of Parliament for the area is Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales.

“To know that he neglects the people that put him in that spot is sad. So I am hoping I can get things done if I do get councillor and try to provide as much as I can for Lopinot/La Florissante.”

She lamented what she described as the dilapidated condition of the Lopinot Historical Complex, popularly known as Lopinot House. The property, built in 1806, is named after the original estate owner, Frenchman Charles Joseph Count de Lopinot and is recognised as a site with significant historical and cultural importance.

“That’s the heart of Lopinot, that is the Lopinot gem. Everybody when they think about Lopinot they think about that. That is history, that is ours, it is our gem…that is our landmark so to leave it there it comes like you are destroying our history about our forefathers. We have children and we will want to teach that history to our children.

“The historical complex is being left in a dilapidated state. All these things that made Lopinot, Lopinot, is being left there.”

Taylor-Chinchamee said the community has a lot of youths who are unemployed, so creating employment opportunities for them is another priority on her agenda.

“There is a lot of unemployment and a lot of youths who are looking forward for jobs or at least an opportunity to do something.

“When you watch the NTA candidates, it’s a bunch of youths who want to make a difference. We can actually walk the streets and have a conversation with youths and inspire them.”

Taylor-Chinchamee also highlighted crime as another issue she wanted to help tackle.

“With the high crime rate some of the people are asking for a police post or a community watch.”

She said it is difficult for police officers to get to the area in a timely manner as there is only one road available to access the area.

“People in the village are trying to come together to do that community watch.”

“I want to assist with that as well.”

Taylor-Chinchamee said she has always been passionate about serving people and her community. She said this passion to help others motivated her to volunteer with the Hunters Search and Rescue team, a non-governmental organisation that helps find missing people in TT. She also said she was tired of seeing so many people missing on social media every day.

“Enough wasn’t being done. I have children. If my children go missing I know how I would feel so I took it upon myself to go and assist.

“When we save a child, it makes you feel good. When you see a family and they are crying, grieving and can’t sleep and you can give them that sense of comfort by bringing back their child, that feel good.”

Taylor-Chinchamee was a part of the recent rescue of Umar Ali, two, and Jenysa Murray, five. The Hunters Search and Rescue team found Ali in a forested area in Sangre Grande after he was missing for almost one week, while Murray was rescued after she was spotted at the Carapal River about 12 hours after she was swept away by the river’s raging waters.

“When we found baby Umar Ali, as a parent, it’s a feeling you just can’t explain.”

Taylor-Chinchamee said she feels “sick” whenever a search ends with the team recovering a body, but despite that feeling she remains determined to help.

“It is a lot of mixed emotions. So we might look for girls that are missing and we might find them in a shallow grave or you might find body parts. It is not a nice feeling. I feel sick. I don’t sleep. Then going back to family’s homes, and some parents can hold up and some parents can’t.

“But when you find one person, it gives you the incentive to keep pushing and keep going. We don’t ever like to tell a family we want to 'recover' your child, we always tell them we want to 'rescue' your child. We always give them that hope that we would find your child and bring your child back home. If a whole year passes or two years, we still try.”

This is the type of dedication to service and getting the job done Taylor-Chinchamee said she will bring Lopinot/La Florissante burgesses if elected.

Taylor-Chinchamee is also a popular doubles vendor based in Arouca and told WMN she actually got involved in the doubles business as a joke.

“I always tell people I do that for kicks. I just got up a morning and I told my husband, I am going to try and sell doubles.

“I grew up with my mom who does food catering…But occasionally I would make the roti for orders but this was my first time going into doubles and I wanted to try it to see the feedback from other people.”

She was one of the people who experimented with doubles during the pandemic.

“I did it and everything came out good. And everybody was like ‘girl you wicked to do people this because we can’t buy it.’ Everybody liked it.”

She took a leap of faith, eventually launching her doubles stand in February.

“Presently, I am not getting time to go out and do it because I am busy campaigning."

NTA director of communications Errol Fabien told WMN, “Nicholene would make a good councillor. She is genuine, she cares about people, she is interested in development. It was a no brainer when we were looking for candidates and Lopinot/La Florissante was one of the districts, it had to be Nicholene. I get the sense from Nicholene she wants to serve. She is never satisfied when things are not done.”

Taylor-Chinchamee said the NTA has a lot of young candidates which she appreciates as she is passionate about youth development. She advised young people to continue to dream.

“You can dream and you can make your dreams come true. Just work hard for it. I had down times too, but sometimes the right person comes at the right time and gives you that encouragement. I think I can be that encouragement to the youths by talking to them and giving them that sense of hope.”

She said when she is going through difficulty her mantra is “everything happens for a reason.” This gives her a sense of comfort to keep pushing.

Should she be elected, Taylor-Chinchamee is confident at the end of her term, she will be able to look back and say she accomplished what she set out to do. For her that would always be, “helping the people.”